Mom's Crab Cakes

Straight from my mom’s recipe to you, with a little tweaking along the way. Easy, but classic and elegant.

1 lb. crab meat, lump is best but you can use any crab
8 saltine crackers, finely crushed (or 1⁄4 c bread crumbs or panko)
1 egg, beaten
Juice of 1⁄2 a lemon
4 T mayonnaise
1 T Dijon mustard
1 t Worcestershire sauce
1 T Old Bay seasoning
5 dashes Tabasco
1 t baking powder
1 T chopped parsley (or chives)
1⁄2 t kosher salt
1⁄2 t fresh ground pepper
Panko bread crumbs for coating
Butter for pan saute

Pick through crab meat to remove any shell or cartilage fragments. Set aside.

Mix the saltine cracker crumbs with the remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Carefully fold in the crabmeat. Mix just enough to combine, try not to shred the crab meat. Keep it in large chunks if possible. Shape into 6 to 10 crab cakes, depending on the size you like. Transfer to a parchment lined sheet pan, cover with wax paper (or parchment) and refrigerate for 1 hour (can be made 1 day ahead).

When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat crab cakes in a panko. Heat butter gently in a large cast iron skillet. Season crab cakes with salt and pepper. When the pan is hot, add crab cakes, being careful not to crowd the pan. You may need to do this in batches, the cakes should not touch. Brown on one side, flip, then transfer to the oven to finish cooking through. Remember, the crab meat in crab cakes is already cooked; you are really just warming, browning, and cooking the egg.